Songs that Sound Like Other Songs

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One Direction vs. Def Leppard

I really didn’t plan on listening to this much One Direction but I’ve had no choice. Have a listen to these two clips. I understand it’s only 3 chords but just listen.

On 19 December 2013, it was announced that Def Leppard had asked their lawyers to look into allegations that “Midnight Memories” and “Pour Some Sugar on Me” bear striking similarities — enough that the boys and the additional writers of the song could be in hot water. However, Def Leppard guitarists Phil Collen and Vivian Campbell confirmed to Billboard that they were not, in fact, pursuing legal action. Collen called the songs “very similar in structure”, but nothing more. Campbell said: “The chords are one-four-five. Those are the blues. You don’t get more basic than that. I think what’s more reminiscent of the Leppard thing is the production, the sound, the vocals, the reverb and the way it’s assembled. – wikipedia

According to Wikipedia, Take Me Back was released on Noiseworks’ self-titled debut album on the 20th of July 1987, while Pour Some Sugar on Me was released on Def Leppard’s album Hysteria on the 3rd of August 1987.

The melody of 99 Revolutions by Green Day (2012) also sounds kind of like Pour Some Sugar on Me, although it’s just descending diatonically then rising a step. By the way, I didn’t have the dates memorised, I just looked them up after you stated Take Me Back and Pour Some Sugar on Me were in the same year, in order to resolve the question.

Hey I’m a big fan of one direction and I listened to both of the songs and they have no similarities at all even though I love one direction I still can here a similarity to “What makes you beautiful” and “summer nights” from Grease so you were wrong

The two songs are in the same key, use the same guitar riff, and the resemblance was close enough that Def Leppard even looked into it.

Also, just a tip of advice: saying “you were wrong” to people often angers them and therefore makes it less likely for them to listen to you. I would advise saying something like “I don’t hear the similarities” instead. 🙂

Both Stormbringer and We Will Rock You have melodies which in parts are mainly two notes, so one could claim that Stormbringer is in turn taken from Green River by Creedence (1969), or from Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress) by the Hollies (1971), which is in turn taken from Green River (1969).

Speaking of Deep Purple, Mandrake Root (1968) sounds kind of like Foxy Lady by The Jimi Hendrix Experience (1967) and they also covered Hey Joe, so I’d say they were fans, but Nick Simper from Deep Purple said that Ritchie Blackmore had taken it from Bill Parkinson, who had written a song for Carlo Little, the original drummer for the Rolling Stones and the song was originally called Lost Soul. The three of them had all played in The Savages, the backing band for Screaming Lord Sutch and Ritchie Blackmore wanted to use the song for a band of the same name he had formed, but it didn’t go anywhere and he joined Deep Purple.

They were, along with Led Zep, one of the early Heavy Metal bands to engage in riff stealing (although neither liked to be called metal), with Deep Purple’s Smoke On the Water riff coming from a couple of Jazz guys, the keyboardist Jon Lord having started his career as a Jazz pianist, Playground (1968) having a riff similar to Watch Your Step by Bobby Parker and Moby Dick by Led Zep (1969) and Cracked.com has an article titled something like: The 6 Artists Who Steal the Most Music, which gives more examples. I don’t let it put me off of songs though, unless it’s the best part, as I find is often the case with Hip Hop sampling.

[Google Translation to english:]
Hummm I think the song “pour some sugar on me” is very different from Take Me Back Your colors are different but have some similarities in their sound, however the boys of One directione is almost like cloning, track your pace is equal from guitars and vocals on; Def Leppard boys would not sue them ….. I just think that, I can assure you that I am not only a fan but it also a good musician with a great ear like:

Simon and Garfunkel’s ‘American song’ is pure plagiarism!! Listen to ‘O haupt voll blut und wunden’, a song from the Mattheus Passion by J.S BacH! Even better: Bach nicked it too! Another German compser (Haßler) had the same tune a century earlier. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRFOrduD3rk)
And since Art G. is a Bach nut they would DEFINITELY know this. In my country (the Netherlands) almost everybody know the Mattheus Passion (the passion of the Christ, according to Matthew).